49ers wide open at quarterback after Kaepernick opts out

Over the past three seasons, the 49ers roster has resembled a block of swiss cheese.

Retirements, off-the-field issues and injuries have punched holes in San Francisco depth charts like crude oil drillers on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Wednesday morning, Ian Rapaport of NFL Network reported San Francisco will have one more hole to address, as Colin Kaepernick — who started 11 regular season games for San Francisco in the 2016-17 season — will exercise the opt-out-clause of his contract making him a free agent.

#49ers QB Colin Kaepernick's new agents, Jeff Nalley & Sean Kiernan, informed 32 teams yesterday that they rep him and he will be opting out

The move will save the 49ers $14.5 million in cap space, according to Tim Daniels of Bleacher Report, but will still cost the team $4.9 million on their books due to a “dead cap hit” from Kaepernick’s earlier signing bonus.

Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to consecutive NFC championship games and a Super Bowl in 2013, had a workman-like season in 2016, completing 59.2 percent of his passes for more than 2,200 yards in 11 starts.

“We don’t have anybody on our roster, so I throw them all in the category of everybody else who’s a free agent and the possibilities going into the draft.”

Considering yesterday’s news regarding what was thought to be a potential trade with the Washington Redskins for signal caller Kirk Cousins — in which Washington quickly shut down discussions — the idea of potential trades may be tough.

Even after Cousins stated publicly he would like to play for his former offensive coordinator in Shanahan, the Redskins quickly placed a franchise tag on their QB and halted all trade rumors, per Ian Rapaport of NFL Network.

The big news here is that the #Redskins placed the exclusive tag on QB Kirk Cousins. He’s not going anywhere.

Who can San Francisco target in the draft?

The only other option comes from the No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming 2017 Draft.

Draft experts have graded three quarterbacks at the top of their position in the 2017 draft class: Mitch Trubisky out of North Carolina, DeShone Kizer from Notre Dame and Deshaun Watson out of Clemson.

Draft experts Dane Brugler, Pete Prisco, Will Brinson and Jared Dubin, [[LINK]] all of CBS Sports, have Trubisky listed as the No. 2 overall pick going to San Francisco in mock drafts posted on Wednesday.

A common argument against choosing a quarterback in the first round is 49ers recent history.

In 2005, San Francisco famously took Alex Smith out of Utah with the No. 1 overall pick. Smith’s career would be less than satisfactory until Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2011, rejuvenating Smith’s career.

With the NFL combine underway in Indianapolis this week, the evaluation process at quarterback will continue as Shanahan and company prepare for their inaugural season in San Francisco.